Comprehensive Profiling of Triglycerides in Wild Eastern Mediterranean Echium Seed Oil Using Paternò–Büchi Modulated Lipidomics

Currently, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which have become popular as dietary supplements, are limited by a shortage in supply. Thus, finding safe, effective alternatives is crucial. <i>Echium</i> seed oil (ESO), rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3ω-3) and stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4ω-3), surpasses many other botanical seed oils. In this study, a pseudotargeted approach was applied to characterize the lipidomic profile of two unexplored <i>Echium</i> species from the Mediterranean region. Our findings established <i>Echium glomeratum</i> as a rich source of ω-3 fatty acids (FAs), exceeding many other species in both quality and quantity. <i>E. glomeratum</i> possesses different FAs and triglyceride (TG) profiles compared to <i>E. judaeum</i>, with the ω-3:ω-6 ratio being 3.5 and 1.3, respectively. This corresponds to higher quantities of ALA (45.50%) and SDA (12.59%) in <i>E. glomeratum</i>. Triglycerides (TGs) comprise 93% of the total lipid content in ESO. This study also profiled the most abundant TGs (50-60 carbons) from both species through comprehensive assignment of the olefination patterns. The <i>E. glomeratum</i> oil profile, containing a higher ω-3 PUFA concentration, was further screened for cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. Our preliminary results demonstrated that <i>E. glomeratum</i> ESO may significantly suppress colon cancer cell growth.